The 10 Best Medical Textbooks

We spent 26 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top choices for this wiki. Anyone planning on entering the medical field should be aware there's going to be reading involved — a whole lot of reading. These textbooks cover a variety of disciplines and focuses, and we've chosen some editions that break down advanced concepts into easy-to-comprehend chunks, allowing you to rapidly absorb the information and put it to practical use.
When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to support our work.
Skip to the best medical textbook on Amazon.

We spent 26 hours on research, videography, and editing, to review the top choices for this wiki. Anyone planning on entering the medical field should be aware there's going to be reading involved — a whole lot of reading. These textbooks cover a variety of disciplines and focuses, and we've chosen some editions that break down advanced concepts into easy-to-comprehend chunks, allowing you to rapidly absorb the information and put it to practical use.
When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to support our work.
Skip to the best medical textbook on Amazon.

10. Medical-Surgical Nursing

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Medical-Surgical Nursing can help you be the best caregiver you can be, as it shows how different maladies require different supervision levels. There are plenty of safety alerts to make you aware of some of the biggest potential crises you can face.

9. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases

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Get to the bottom of just about any communicable illness with Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. You'll learn how to recognize a variety of ailments, as well as how they're caused, ways to contain their spread, and the best treatment methods.

8. Medical Terminology

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Medical Terminology won't teach you anything about the internal workings of the body, but it can help you understand the people who will. It's a great companion to virtually any other manual in the field — and it can save you from asking ignorant questions.

7. Comprehensive Treatment of Chronic Pain

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Your patients will likely have one over-arching demand: they'll want to feel better as soon as possible. Comprehensive Treatment of Chronic Pain relates some of the best-known methods for relieving discomfort anywhere it's found in the body.

6. Williams Endocrinology

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Williams Endocrinology examines both adult and pediatric disorders, preparing readers for anything they might encounter in the field. It surveys a variety of conditions and their effects on glands, including diabetes, obesity, thyroid disease, and more.

5. Braunwald's Heart Disease

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Anyone hoping to deal with the cardiovascular system needs a copy of Braunwald's Heart Disease. The hard cover ships as a massive two-volume set, but there's an update program in which the authors post news and clinical trial results, so you can stay current.

4. Murray & Nadel's Respiratory Medicine

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You'll never be stumped by a condition if you have Murray & Nadel's Respiratory Medicine in your library. It contains detailed explanations of several major sicknesses, enabling you to diagnose even the trickiest of illnesses with confidence.

3. Pathophysiology of Heart Disease

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Regardless of where you are in your studies, Pathophysiology of Heart Disease can help further your understanding of the organ responsible for blood flow. Rather than being a mountain of dry text, it actually tries to lay things out in narrative form for easier absorption.

2. Guyton and Hall Physiology

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Guyton and Hall Physiology lets you go online and quiz yourself over the material you've covered to ensure it sticks. It goes out of its way to present concepts rather than just serve up facts, helping students to quickly get an overview of what they're learning.

1. Current Diagnosis and Treatment

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No matter your specialty, you should have a copy of Current Diagnosis and Treatment within arm's reach. It quickly summarizes every major primary care topic, giving you evidence-based answers to all your diagnostic and treatment questions.

Editor's Notes

February 28, 2019: Current Diagnosis and Treatment earned the top spot because it's the title most likely to be useful to the widest range of users. Everyone from first-year students to practicing clinicians is likely to find it helpful. We've included books that we feel are the definitive look at their respective field of study, such as Murray & Nadel's Respiratory Medicine and Williams Endocrinology; those tomes are likely to be as useful for students of other disciplines who just want an overview of the subject as they are for dedicated practitioners. Similarly, there are other editions on this list, such as Medical-Surgical Nursing, which are designed to provide students with a broader look at the medical field rather than dialing in on a specific ailment or body system.

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After getting his bachelor’s from the University of Texas, Quincy Miller moved out to Los Angeles, where he soon found work as a copywriter and researcher, specializing in health and wellness topics for a major online media brand. Quincy is also knowledgeable about home improvement, as he’s had extensive experience with everything from insulation to power tools to emergency room trips, sometimes in that order. Sharing a home with three dogs and a couple of cats has forced Quincy to learn as much as he can about pet supplies, animal nutrition and, most importantly, the best ways to tackle the mountains of fur that accumulate in every corner of your home.

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